Startling new claims about South Africa’s apartheid-era intelligence activities are made in a book by former National Intelligence Service (NIS) agent Riaan Labuschagne.
The book, On South Africa’s Secret Service, was released in December. In it Labuschagne describes his 15 years as an undercover agent for the NIS. He reveals:
- The existence of a secret arm of the NIS, directorate K, which Labus-chagne believes had ”executive powers” — in other words operated its own hit-squads;
- Allegations that former Zambian president Kenneth Kaunda was an ”agent of influence” for both the NIS and British intelligence;
- How one arm of the South African security services often didn’t know what the other was doing, resulting in the killing of highly placed NIA agents;
- How the NIS maintained close relations with other intelligence organisations, including those in many African countries, despite official disapproval of apartheid;
- How he ”ran” as agents a very senior member of the Zimbabwean Central Intelligence Organisation and an Umkhonto weSizwe operative named as Guy Ndhlovu;
- How he recruited the Soviet military attachÃ